Relief for fortunate Ipswich

Last updated at 19:53 07 January 2007

Chester City 0 Ipswich Town 0

Jason De Vos has experienced life on both sides of the great footballing divide. The Ipswich captain knows how important it is for players in the lower leagues to grasp their glimpse of the glamourous life and to seize their rare opportunity to make a name for themselves.

And the Canadian is aware that, while Chester’s Saunders Honda Stadium lacks the fame of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium or the Stade de France in Paris, it can mean as much to players who ply their trade in the drudgery of League Two, as Saturday’s stalemate showed.

"When I was at Darlington, playing in the FA Cup was the biggest thing in the world, it was a World Cup final for us," he said. "So I know what it’s like to be the minnow and what it’s like to be the favourite and it’s very hard to get through the third round."

Ipswich discovered that and, as their manager Jim Magilton admitted, do not deserve to be in today’s draw. "I’m very relieved to still be in the hat. It’s the least Chester deserved, the very least," he said.

Ipswich and Chester are separated by 49 places in the league ladder but it was only when Alan Lee hit the bar in the dying minutes that the supposed superiors looked like winning.

In contrast, Chester striker Gregg Blundell could have had a hat-trick within 13 first-half minutes but when did find the net after a smart one-two with Roberto Martinez, he was denied by an offside flag. "To me it looked onside," said defender Phil Bolland, a claim replays supported.

But Liverpool’s 1992 FA Cup-winning captain could look on the brighter side: "If we are lucky enough to get through, draw one big club and get televised, it pays for a whole season."

It would be all the more unexpected because Chester thought their FA Cup run had ended with defeat at Bury. But after they were reinstated, and Bury expelled, next Tuesday’s [16th] replay makes it more lucrative.

Bolland added: "Obviously the chairman and the manager might think about money but we don’t. At this level, it is all about enjoying it. We just want to play against good players at a good ground and maybe get ourselves in the papers a bit."